Clotheslines

Whether we are fashion forward or oblivious to trends, clothing is our universal means of self-expression. Far from frivolous, clothing has served as much more than mere covering. Artists and writers throughout history have found inspiration in all kinds of garments, turning to everyday items like dresses and shoes to express the deeper emotions attached to them. With the same engaging concept he applied to Home, Stan Tymorek mixes and matches poems about clothing with paintings and photographs in an anthology that offers a fresh perspective on what we wear.\By juxtaposing 50 poems and images from different places and times, Tymorek provides couplings that are at once provocative, poignant, thoughtful, and funny. An Edward Steichen photograph from Vogue modernizes an Elizabethan sonnet. Max Ernst and Elizabeth Bishop question the notions of gender contained in a hat. Jim Dine and John Updike jointly consider the strictures of the suit. Among the featured poets and artists are Robert Creeley, Dorothy Parker, Calvin Trillin, Sonia Delaunay, Gustav Klimt, and Andy Warhol.